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General Climbing Discussion

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Copyright 27-Feb-2005 At 11:49:57 PM Onsight

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On 18/02/2005 anthonyk wrote:
>definitely, i would also be happy to see more involvement in the sport.
> the question i was touching on more was that if there was enough of a
>market to support the full income for a number of people (and give opportunity
>for others, not just a lucky few who manage to get their claws in the few
>available spots), would it be sustainable and maintain the ethos of the
>activity?
You sure know the interesting questions to ask Anthony!

Well I guess it all depends on what those people were doing. If they were working things like access and cliffcare type activities then it might be pretty important to its sustainability in some areas. If they are working on (or contributing to) publications (like magazines) that shares the ethos — and excites us to it — then that could be a good thing too (for example I’d love to see more great climbing writers here but currently there’s little incentive or opportunity). I’m not sure what other jobs there’d be, perhaps coaches/trainers (there’s already a lot of guiding) and it’s hard to know what effect they’d have – depends how you define the activity. You’re talking about rock climbing here I presume – because I am.

>of course there would be some sort of change, but once advertising
>forces kick in to the mentality of the sport it can bring some drastic
>changes i would expect.
>>>in the end, whats the ideal for you guys making
>>>much of a living off climbing?
>>In what sense?
>
>like what i'm talking about above. do you ideally want it to grow to
>be a popular and well funded activity or would you prefer it to be fairly
>alternative and get more attention (and $$) from elsewhere? maybe there's
>a good balance somewhere.
Well I too hope there is a balance somewhere because my answer to that is most definitely BOTH! I’d like to see some areas of activity well funded but at the same time I very much want the activity to remain somewhat alternative (I’d don’t know if that’s possible – but you did ask me my ideal). I think what we are losing now – and in grave danger of losing even further – is the ‘culture’ of climbing in this country. ‘Culture’ perhaps isn’t the right word, perhaps ‘ethos’ as you used above, but perhaps more so the ‘vibe’, the ‘atmosphere’, the ‘soul’ that existed before and is one of the great things that makes climbing so different to most other so called “sports”.

Call me sentimental but I’ve been climbing 22 years and have seen massive changes - and it's not all good. Pretty much gone is the full-time Arapiles scene and I think that is a great shame. My personal assessment is that there has been a steady drop off in numbers here over the last five years (at least a far as rock climbing is concerned — and just based on what I’ve seen at the crags — would be interesting to know industry inside figures for a more factual assessment). But I’m not just concerned about fewer numbers but a whole host of things that are challenging the “sport” here at the moment. And, sorry Phil, but I somehow doubt that the current indoor bouldering series is in anyway going to be some great saviour (although I do expect your opinion there is going to be widely held) particularly as it’s just as likely diverting energy, attention and resources away from more “worthwhile” activities (IMO) which might be more in line with the ethos of the sport, remind us of it, and inspire us all. There are of course many broader cultural/lifestyle factors at play but things like the sometime lack of "industry" support for our top rock climbers is really disappointing.

Totally off-topic now of course but that's OK.